Yesterday the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development held a hearing titled, Ending Veterans’ Homelessness. While it is not unheard of to see meager appearances at Congressional hearings, particularly when dealing with subcommittees, it is uncommon to see a complete no show by the minority, particularly the ranking member.

This also comes coincidentally at a particularly loaded time in which Republicans are sending a Veterans’ Day letter urging President Obama to send more troops to the war in Afghanistan. The purpose of my article is not to point out individuals and score cheap political points for the democrats. In fairness, I consider myself a moderate democrat and have worked for democrats in Congress—that’s my disclosure. But day in and day out I work with both sides of the aisle and my job is to get the benefits our veterans deserve—and honestly I don’t care what party gets us there so long as it is done.

So here is my BOOOOOOOOO to the Republicans on the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development Subcommittee. My question for you Senator David Vitter (Louisiana), Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas), Senator Mike Crapo (Idaho), Senator Bob Corker (Tennessee), Senator Jim DeMint (South Carolina), Senator Mike Johanns (Nebraska), and Senator Judd Gregg, is what was so important that not one member from your party could be present to represent the republicans on such an important issue? Yes you answer to your constituents, but you also have an obligation to those who very proudly served our country and are now sleeping in the gutters of the streets you represent. Boo, Boo, Boo, to you. I pray you are not firing up your veteran loving rhetoric today in your home districts about the great feats you are attempting to accomplish for our nation’s veterans. Do me a favor, stay at home and write your apology for failing America’s veterans yesterday. Furthermore, please refrain from making any suggestions on what our military ought to be doing if you cannot first take care of those who have already served.

In my pro-veteran, non-partisan fairness (The Virginia Veteran is all about fair and balanced reporting), this question is also extended to those not present on the democratic side. Senators Tim Johnson (South Dakota), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Herb Kohl (Wisconsin), and Senator Mark Warner (Virginia). In further fairness, at least their party was well represented and actually had the most members I have seen from one side on a subcommittee hearing on veteran’s issues.

My personal thanks to Senator Robert Menendez (New Jersey), Senator Jack Reed (Rhode Island), Senator Charles Schumer (New York), Senator, and Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Daniel Akaka (Hawaii), Senator Jon Tester (Montana), Senator Jeff Merkley Oregon.

My thanks for taking seriously the more than 131,000 veterans that will sleep in the streets on the night we honor Veterans. If any of these are your no-show representatives I hope you will call and ask them a simple question—why? And follow that with “no, never again!”

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